Secretariat of the International Strategy
for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR)
 
Priority Areas to Implement Disaster Risk Reduction
“ Building disaster resilient communities and nations”
Helping to Set a New International Agenda
 
 
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Dialogue Topic 3

From 5 to 11 July
Voluntary partnerships to support implementation, at all levels. Operational criteria and modalities. Links with relevant World Summit on Social Development (WSSD) partnerships and other existing ones.

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19.07.04 Omar G. Flores Beltetón (Guatemala)
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19.07.04 Hibak Hersi
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19.07.04 Man Thapa (Nepal)
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19.07.04 Meena Raghunathan (India)
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19.07.04 John Norton (France)
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19.07.04 Meena Bilgi (India)
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19.07.04 Koko Warner (Switzerland)
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19.07.04 Paolo Barratini (Italy)
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19.07.04 Ahsan Uddin Ahmed (Bangladesh)
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15.07.04 Edward (USA)
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15.07.04 Christopher Effgen (USA)
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15.07.04 Iqbal Zuberi (Bangladesh)
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15.07.04 Rachel Berger (UK)
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15.07.04 Mónica Miguel Lago (Spain)
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15.07.04 Rodney Martínez (Ecuador)
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13.07.04 Meena Bilgi (India)
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13.07.04 R Kuberan (Vietnam)
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13.07.04 Jamal Sholan (Yemen)
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13.07.04 Leonidas Ocola (Peru)
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13.07.04 Durgadas Mukhopadhyay (India)
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13.07.04 Maria Nadiezda Otero (Bolivia)
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13.07.04 John Norton (France)
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13.07.04 Jean J. Chu (USA)
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13.07.04 George Ritchie (UK)
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13.07.04 Anshu Sharma (India)
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13.07.04 Meda Gurudutt Prasad (India)
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11.07.04 Meena Bilgi (India)
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11.07.04 John Twigg (moderator)
Topic 3: voluntary partnerships, message from the moderator 11/7/04
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11.07.04 Luis Wintergerst T (Mexico)
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11.07.04 Koko Warner (Switzerland), Laurens Bouwer, Holger Hoff
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11.07.04 Tomukum Chia (Cameroon)
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11.07.04 Massimo de Franchi (El Salvador)
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11.07.04 Alekssandr Kuzmenko (Ukraine)
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11.07.04 Masayuki KITAMOTO (Japan)
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08.07.04 Carmen Schlosser (France)
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08.07.04 Mlenge Fanuel Mgendi (Tanzania)
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08.07.04 Jacques Paré ( El Salvador)
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07.07.04 John Twigg (moderator)
Topic 3: voluntary partnerships, message from the moderator
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07.07.04 Alekssandr Kuzmenko (Ukraine)
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07.07.04 Ilan Kelman (UK)
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07.07.04 Dra. Elizabeth Benites Estupiñan (Ecuador)
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06.07.04 R. Kuberan (Vietnam)
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05.07.04 John Twigg (moderator)
Topic 3: voluntary partnerships, message from moderator

19.07.04 Omar G. Flores Beltetón (Guatemala) 

Dear Friends,

Here at San Carlos University (Guatemala )we have good experience of voluntary partnerships. In the year 2001 we obtained the Sasakawa Award jointly with the UN Voluntary Program for a project in risk management and prevention at local community level, in the East of the country. Now the University is running for the second year a disaster training course, in which, again, partnership with NGOs and local and international institutions has been a good strategy. So a wide range of options can be found for looking at and working with the concept of partnerships,

Omar G. Flores Beltetón (Guatemala)


19.07.04 Hibak Hersi 

Dear all,

I agree with the proposed operational criteria and modalities. I do, however, have two suggestions to add.

1) The first suggestion is that the wording of this phrase (“The mechanism is open to any combination of governments, local authorities, and major civil society organizations including NGOs and the private sector”) should be rephrased to emphasize the value of using the media as a major partner in Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation (DPM).

The ISDR secretariat (as facilitator of partnerships) could provide mechanisms whereby local and international media are encouraged to become key partners in the promotion of DPM information. For instance, if the BBC alone became involved in promoting DPM, imagine how many millions would have access to lifesaving information. This information may be as simple as a one-phrase sentence or paragraph that would scroll at the bottom of the screen at the beginning or end of each emission (i.e. X% of deaths during floods are due to people attempting to drive in flood water). As organizations are often willing to invest in community service work, the media and for profit companies can pay for these very brief messages.

2) The other suggestion is that the ISDR facilitate partnerships that focus on promoting local rural communities’ and the urban poor’s access to disaster literature. Much of the preparedness / mitigation measures that can be taken are easy to implement/self-teach but the problem lies in these groups’ access to information that is language/culture sensitive. I suggest: improving individuals’ and community groups’ access to disaster literature by encouraging for-profit businesses, NGOs and other non-government and government groups to partner in translating, carrying and disbursing such literature free of charge (of course it could get expensive but partnerships with for-profit groups could help defray the costs). There is much disaster management literature/advice “in English” online but it is of course often inaccessible due to lack of access to funds to pay for internet use and/or lack of access to internet facilities. This is an example of an additional task that the ISDR secretariat could foresee.

Thank you for the opportunity to participate.
Hibak Hersi


19.07.04 Man Thapa (Nepal) 

Dear all,

I agree with Iqbal Zuberi(Bangladesh). In any developing and disaster prone country, voluntary partnership is one of the sustainable mechanisms available to reduce disaster risk and to perform other disaster related activities.

I would like to share one of our experiences in Nepal where we have mobilized local communities to form or strengthen community organizations. Such community organizations/institutions are called Self-Governing Community Organizations (SGCOs). Such SGCOs are formed if there are none or strengthened if they are already there. They comprise both men and women or are separate men’s/women’s groups depending upon the situation. We found that such SGCOs are instrumental in mobilizing local communities, resource mobilization, and serve as a bridge between local community and outsiders. In many cases, SGCOs are now registered with the local administrative office as NGOs. We have seen that such SGCOs are able to mobilize resources locally and from outside, to design, implement and monitor/evaluate disaster mitigation activities/ measures. After all, such organizations/institutions are the first responders to any disaster. Therefore, all our efforts should be to build their (and the local community's) capacity in voluntary partnership.

Man Thapa (Nepal)


19.07.04 Meena Raghunathan (India)  

I would like to raise the following issues.

1) Education. Education for preparedness is the key for better disaster management, as several participants have pointed out. The issue is also 'how to educate'. While it is essential to have things in the curriculum, it is not enough that children learn the 'theory' of disaster preparedness from textbooks. It will then be just another piece of information they memorize and forget. To really make a difference, the methodologies used for such education have to be more active and participatory--from simulations, to case-study based learning, to disaster mapping, to drills. The Centre for Environment Education, India has been involved in developing such materials for schools and would be happy to share information with anyone interested.

Another important thing is that the awareness and education regarding disasters needs to be really locale-specific: it is not enough that people are told in general terms what to do. To be effective, they need to know what to do when a particular disaster hits THEM, in their city, town, village. Everyone will recall that the tragedy of Bhopal was accentuated because the doctors did not know what were the chemicals leaking out and therefore what to do for those affected. Participatory processes of disaster mapping and preparedness planning involving all stakeholders, are good ways to bring about this awareness. Good quality information and access to this for all stakeholders is key. Another problem is that soon after a disaster, there is a flurry of activities on creating awareness and education. But with fading memories of the crisis, the need for such education remains only in intention and other priorities take over. So we do need some interested party--NGOs, government disaster related agencies, etc., who see it as their mandate to focus and advocate for this and keep this in the public eye.

2) Partnerships and capacity building at community level. A disaster focuses attention on the site of the disaster. Many agencies - government, NGOs, donors - all come to that site to contribute to rescue, rehabilitation, etc. But this partnership with the community must be seen in a long term perspective by all partners concerned. The capacities of all the partners must be harnessed for the overall development of the place, in the long term. It is rare that so many institutions with so many different capacities come into a place and the communities must be able to take advantage of this, on their terms, in a slightly long term perspective. In other words, the tragedy of the disaster must be turned into an opportunity. There are several examples of this in Gujarat, following the earthquake of 2001. Several agencies who came in immediately after the disaster, have stayed on, built partnerships with the community and taken up long term development initiatives in the areas of education, natural resource management, institutional development, etc.

3) Livelihoods. It is true, as several people have pointed out, that it is the poorest who are affected most. Related to this is the fact that a number of rehabilitation efforts focus on reconstruction of houses, schools, facilities, infrastructure, etc. The crucial issue of restoring livelihoods is not always addressed in the really sensitive and meaningful way in which it should be. This issue of livelihoods has to be looked at in two ways. First is restoring livelihoods in the immediate term: for example, providing access to seeds and agricultural implements etc. which may have been destroyed, to enable farming activities in the immediate agricultural season. But the other aspect is also seeing this as an opportunity for building capacities for enhancing sustainable livelihood options--through analysis of what are the options in a particular place, what is the training required, what are the macro-linkages required, etc., and putting these in place.

Meena Raghunathan (India)


19.07.04 John Norton (France) 

Re: discussions about financial services to help protect the poor against disasters.
We have been providing targeted credit for the preventive strengthening of houses in Viet Nam since 2002, and the reponse locally has been excellent - large take up by the population (all extremely poor) and a very good repayment rate. Families clearly consider that taking out credit for house strengthening is a way of securing the environment in which they live and work.

John Norton (France)


19.07.04 Meena Bilgi (India) 

Re: discussions about financial services to help protect the poor against disasters
In response to Mr. R Kuberan’s comment on this subject, I would like to share our experience. The flats (in an urban area) where I live have comprise 9 towers with 40 flats each. Only 2% of the owners have insurance for the flats, the rest do not. Reasons: definitely, some can not afford it, but some think that disasters won't happen again and again, so why waste money on premiums ? In rural India, it is difficult for the majority of farmers to obtain insurance, hence innovative financial and insurance schemes are required for them. Yet those farmers who can afford premiums, still don't. Reasons: either they are ignorant or casual. People's awareness is important and I think we forget the immense role that positive media can play here.

Meena Bilgi (India)


19.07.04 Koko Warner (Switzerland) 

Re: discussions about financial services to help protect the poor against disasters

In response to R. Kuberan, Your observation about the problem of partnerships involving financial services when poverty is prevalent is important. Certainly many formal financial services do not operate in areas where financial markets are shallow. However, there are growing numbers of examples of partnerships where informal credit, micro-credit, local level cooperatives have been used to help spread the risk of natural disasters. Such examples also fall under the category of "financial services." Formal insurance may be used, but the concept of insurance--that of sharing risk between parties--is probably of most value when talking about financial services and partnerships to address disaster risks. My comments and examples certainly intend to include informal as well as formal financial services mechanisms. Your comment gave me the opportunity to clarify that point a little bit.

Thanks. Best,
Koko Warner (Switzerland)


19.07.04 Paolo Barratini (Italy) 

A disaster destroys not only structures but also relations between people and their own culture. External intervention here in Italy follows political paths, politicians use the post-disaster funding and intervention to gain political consensus as well as to gain personal wealth.

Another issue. The discussion of this topic is very generic. I have not seen any quantitative parameters, like time of responses to a disaster from current structures and/or agencies. I would like to see a list of requirements for different situations.

Paolo Barratini (Italy)


19.07.04 Ahsan Uddin Ahmed (Bangladesh) 

Dear Colleagues,

Your continued participation in the ongoing e-conference encouraged me to take part in it. We are currently trying to implement a voluntary partnership activity in two flood-vulnerable areas. I would like to share my experience on this with you.

Flood is a frequent phenomenon in Bangladesh. Examining historical extreme flood events, especially those occurring in 1987, 1988 and in 1998, one can easily identify voluntary partnerships of various forms: between poor households and the local elites; community based organizations and government; national non-government organizations and the government; international NGOs and the government; and finally, between local NGOs and international NGOs. A brief account of such ‘adaptation efforts’ has recently been published by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) in the Abstract Volume in preparation for the 13th Stockholm Water Week (SIWI Conference)(Ahmed, 2003).

Recently, we at the BUP Centre for Water and Environment, in association with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), have been promoting people’s self-help in local-level flood management, through the involvement of the local government leaders and local people. In doing so, as a test case, we developed a “Community-based Flood Management Strategy (CFMS)” for flood-vulnerable areas of the country, in consultation with local people. This was firmed up by presenting in a series of Focus Group Discussions (FGD) and through participatory rural appraisal (PRA) methods.

The development of the CFMS was followed by development of a ‘Community-based Flood Management Manual (CFMM)’ where specific aspects of community self-help have been highlighted. This product was again presented to the local people for field testing. When finalized, we imparted training to about four flood-vulnerable communities on various aspects of CFMM. This has immediately been put into practice by two model flood-vulnerable areas (Union Parishads – the smallest tier of the Government) during this monsoon. We have early results from such activities and it appeared to all concerned as a new mode of voluntary partnership, with a goal to manage flood through a series of self-help and community-based activities, has initiated a new approach to community-based flood management.

We are excited about the early success of the programme. It is expected that the CFMS will become a model for the ‘Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme’ of the Government and it will address a number of elements of IPRSP as well as MDGs. Only time will say, how far the concept of CFMS might be translated into a regular practice at the grassroots.

If you are interested to know more about the action research, I shall be glad to provide more information on this.

Thanks.
Ahsan Uddin Ahmed (Bangladesh)


15.07.04 Edward (USA)  
Experiences which I myself have had with forecasting earthquakes and other matters indicate to me that it is probably crucially important that some program be established which would make it possible for people to quickly and efficiently communicate with governments and with disaster mitigation groups etc. around the world and also develop effective technologies for solving health and life threatening problems.

Such a program might be run by an organization such as the United Nations and involve the development of a special Internet Web site where lists of health and life threatening problems would be maintained. People interested in helping deal with and solve those problems could visit the Web site and participate in at least three different types of activities. In connection with each problem or general category of problems there would be:

DISCUSSION FORUMS - There would be two or three discussion forums where people around the world could compare notes. One would be for the general public. Anyone could post a note. With the other two forums participants would need to be registered. Notes posted to one of them could be read by the general public. Notes posted to the other could be read by only the forum participants.

A REFERENCE LIBRARY - Abstracts discussing research being done around the world in connection with a given problem or general category of problems would be stored at the Web site. Some full-length publications might also be stored there as well as free, downloadable computer programs.

A WORKING AREA - This would involve a variety of Web site resources which would enable independent and university affiliated researchers and government and disaster mitigation officials to develop technologies and administrative programs intended to actually try to solve a given problem. For example, special computer programs (CGI programs) running at the Web site would enable people to visit data entry Web pages and submit information to those programs. Upon being sent information like that the programs would do things such as add the information to their databases, evaluate them, and display them on other Web pages at the Web site. Earthquake forecasting data submitted in such a manner by scientists around the world could be compiled and made available to government agencies and international disaster mitigation group personnel. Information submitted regarding torrential rain storms in some country could be automatically processed and used to generate flood warning messages to people living in affected areas.

It has been my personal experience that many people around the world would be interested in participating in such efforts either as paid professionals or volunteer workers. But in order to do that there would have to be some organization which would maintain the Web site, establish guidelines and rules for participants, and keep things running.

Several years ago I myself created a company here in the United States with the intention of having it help get such a Web site established. My first formal project related to that effort was made operational in just the past few months. And I am going to use it here as an example to demonstrate the importance of this type of organized Web site based effort (EM signal – Earthquake Comparison Data http://www.freewebz.com/eq-forecasting/Data.html; Downloadable Data Evaluation Computer Program http://www.freewebz.com/eq-forecasting/301.html; A Demonstration Earthquake Prediction Program http://home.netcom.com/~edgrsprj/124.html).

For about a decade I have been running an informal earthquake forecasting program. It involves evaluating what I believe are unusual electromagnetic energy field fluctuation type signals which probably have something to do with very low frequency radio waves. It is quite important that government agencies, international disaster mitigation groups, and other earthquake forecasters around the world have access to information regarding the times when those signals are detected. They can then check for signs of approaching earthquakes in their own countries. However, at this time there is no effective mechanism available for circulating those types of data. What I have had to do over the years is search Internet Web sites for the e-mail addresses of government agencies and disaster mitigation groups around the world. And I send them my forecast data by e-mail. That recently created Data.html Web page at my Web site represents my latest effort to make those types of data available to the people around the world who need them. And government scientists etc. can use the downloadable computer program available at my 301.html Web page to process some of their own earthquake precursor data or run additional tests on my precursor data. This is an extremely inefficient process. In many cases when government and disaster mitigation officials are sent an earthquake warning they have no idea how to react to it. And so I must always include detailed instructions for how they should evaluate and respond to the data along with each earthquake warning that I circulate. That warning process does not work very well. And few lives which might have been saved are actually saved.

If my earthquake warning data and data being generated by other forecasters could be made available to the appropriate government and disaster mitigation officials around the world in an efficient and effective manner then perhaps many earthquake related fatalities and at least some property damage might be avoided.

The main difficulty with establishing such a health and life threatening problem solving Web site might simply involve convincing people that such an effort is necessary and that it would work. Obtaining adequate funding to run the Web site would probably be the second most difficult part. Because quite a few people participating in the effort would be volunteer workers certain expenses could be minimized.

Edward (USA)

15.07.04 Christopher Effgen (USA)  
I was happy to read the contribution of George Ritchie about the Global Association for Disaster Reduction efforts. In my mind the end of disaster mitigation is "Sustainable Development."

In the United States, in communities which regularly experience disasters, community groups and organizations have been formed wherein people can join and receive training in how to help after a disaster. These groups have support because the community has the experience to understand the need and the value of coordinated action in the response phase. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, to some extent, supports groups called CERT, which stands for Community Emergency Response Teams. The idea for founding these teams grew as a result of the knowledge that, when an earthquake hit Mexico City, many people died as a result of efforts to rescue people trapped in buildings. In California, Florida and to some extent in other states and localities these teams receive training through the local Emergency Management/Fire Departments and support from the community and corporate sectors. They perform functions in support of and independent of local authorities whose resources are overwhelmed by the scope of disasters. There are a wide variety of other actors, Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMAT) for example are in part funded and meet standards established by FEMA. Across the United States there are numerous groups (mostly in association with religious organizations) that also play a significant role in responding to local, statewide and national disasters. Some donate labor and building materials, there is even one group that attempts to locate people affected by disasters who do not qualify for Federal and State aid. Everyone involved in these groups understands the value of the work that they do. It isn’t just the local, state and Federal government that responds.

Personally, I think that one of the reasons that our economy has been sound is because of the overlapping levels of response to disasters. I should not fail to mention the role that insurance plays as being a major contributor to the reduction at times when the local economy is negatively affected by the disaster.

Flooding is the one disaster in the United States that insurance companies do not provide coverage for. The solution has been to offer insurance to a person through insurance agencies that is backed by the faith and credit of the Federal government. No one is required to purchase such insurance, but it is often required prior to securing a loan to purchase property. In this regard the government surveys the land and rates it based upon its probability for flooding, which forms the basis for the insurance rate on the property. After a loss, conditions with respect to the elevation of the living area of the dwelling can be set as a condition for renewed insurance, which is a condition that is also regulated by the building code and by lenders. In our experience there are some properties that should not be insurable for repeated losses. People outside of designated flood zones can also purchase this insurance, but lenders do not require it. Most construction in the United States takes place in jurisdictions that require buildings to meet code standards. Outside of these areas, lenders as a condition of the loan will often require a certified inspector to approve the building plan and make certain required inspections as the dwelling is constructed.

The success of disaster mitigation efforts depends on the three sectors responsible for public policy properly working together. Whatever that policy is, those representing capital and business groups, the bureaucracy, and the legislative branch (the people) must together develop policies towards a common goal. Voluntary efforts do not require the cooperation of each of these sources of power, but where they share an interest in common all energy is available for the work at hand. Where these groups do not or can not form common goals or where they form common goals but they are not based on sound risk/threat management and development policy, no amount of money can solve the sustainable development/disaster mitigation problem.

Christopher Effgen (USA)


15.07.04 Iqbal Zuberi (Bangladesh)  
Disaster affects all, but the better off can mitigate comparatively easily - they can buy goods and services- and regain their pre-disaster state. In LDCs like Bangladesh the poor get poorer. They can not regain their previous economic state because they can not afford mitigation measures. All their small resources sustaining them are affected by disaster; their livelihood strategies depending on natural resources being destroyed, they have to struggle for survival. We see floods, droughts, riverbank erosion, cyclones - all are worsening poverty, all efforts to reduce poverty become fruitless.

Here voluntary partnership can play a vital role. The poor should build their own 'disaster mitigation institutions' under local government/NGO support. In many countries/areas they exist but are non-functional due to lack of external resources - will have to be infused with ideas and helped to become self-supporting by 'voluntary partnership'.

Iqbal Zuberi (Bangladesh)


15.07.04 Rachel Berger (UK)  
I would just like to make a brief contribution. I agree that networks are not sufficient - that there is a need to go beyond sharing of information, to action. However, there is evidence that the networks which ITDG has helped to set up on disaster mitigation - Duryog Nivaran in South Asia and La Red in Latin America - have significantly raised the profile of disaster mitigation with governments and other organisations whose support for this approach is needed. The networks have been channels for publishing research and enabling NGOs to work together.

ITDG's experience would echo that of Anshu Sharma and Durgadas Mukhopudyah, on the need both to work with communities, and to enable them to disburse funds in accordance with their perceived needs. Our exerience is that communities can soon gain the capacity to do this, and ITDG has sought to facilitate links between communities and government, local and national.

I agree with Meena Bilg, about the need to bring architects and planners on board with regard to building technologies which enable dwellings to withstand disasters, whether flood, typhoon or earthquake, and the relevance of local and traditional techniques for this. In Peru ITDG developed a building technique using local materials - basically mud overlain on woven panels; even though we actually funded only 100 houses, many more were since built as people observed the strength (and low cost) of the technique, and emulated it.

Often at issue in terms of wider promotion and adoption of these appropriate technologies is the professional pride/resistance of architects to promote and follow on what are seen as backward technologies, as well as the
in-built inertia in humanitarian agencies, with bringing in solutions from elsewhere, and the vested interests of multinationals in the building product business.

Rachel Berger (UK)


15.07.04 Mónica Miguel Lago (Spain)  
Some lessons learned: An example of volunteer experience

An exhibition initiative for the general public called “understanding the meaning… understanding the action” has been proposed in terms of "local capacity building and training" after the environmental disaster produced by the Prestige Oil tanker off the Galician Coast.

The idea originated when thousands of civilians were involved as volunteers in cleaning and regeneration offshore and along the coastline. I realize the differences between technological and natural disasters, and definitely disaster management is a difficult subject to understand, but in that time period we found volunteer experience an opening for preparedness and education. Integration and simplification of the information is necessary for use with civilian groups and maybe with decision makers…

The exhibition initiative uses understood concepts and integrated activities to make “people” discover the dimensions of the phases of disaster reduction. It was quite simple but also effective. It is not necessary to have a large budget for education programmes. The art of learning scenarios should be simple. That is why an “alphabet" (see below) has been an adequate tool for visual impact presentation and learning processes.

In terms of global disaster management, the idea maybe nowadays sounds quite naïve, but we know from experience that a crisis event is not a good moment to show the capabilities of prevention, that is why previous “education” on understanding global and local levels, crosscutting actions and domains is required. The work should be done on different levels: scientific and technical; organisational and institutional, financial and socio-economic; and on the level of data policy.

Please note that some of the following examples are not disaster as meaning but process connections as disaster understanding… that is one of the examples of volunteer presentation:

“from A Atmospheric and Air pollution (aerosols)… from B Biomass Reduction… from C Coastal Erosion, Cyclone… from D Desertification, Deforestation… from E Earthquake, Epidemiological risk… from F Floods, Food security, Fires… from G Glacier Melt… from H Hazardous material, Haze Fog… from I Ice melting (Snow hazard)… from J Jungle deforestation… from K Kilometre disaster (actuation areas & mapping)… from L Landsides, Land degradation… from M Mudslides… from N el Niño… from O Oil Spills. Ocean storm, ozone reduction… from P Prolonged drought, Plagued, pollution general… from Q Quick look to disasters / quick analysis… from R Refugees… from S Storms, seismic areas… from T Tsunami, Transportation accidents… from U urban planning for reconstruction… from V volcanic eruption… from W windstorm… from X axis representation & understanding… from Y Yellow substances- pollution identification and water quality… from Z Zone disaster”

The identified disasters and events should be interrelated by information fluxes, diagrams, etc... as the following fields examples which are introducing the contents for the exhibition:

  • Alphabet letter
  • Disaster type
  • Cycle: atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, criosphere
  • Process connections: damage assessment, fluxes interaction and parameters
  • Phases of mitigation (pre-crisis-post): rescue, mitigation, cleaning up and reconstruction
  • Work levels: space community, institutions & organizations decision makers, users…
  • Chain structure: technical, organizational, operational, finance, educational…
  • Needs and resources: coordination & political integration, capacity building,…)
  • Database: development, network, assessment experience, cooperation, collaboration…

A complementary understanding should integrate and reflect on:

  • General needs
  • Information needs
  • Information sources
  • Integration & analysis

The exhibition will host activities integrating the meaning of disaster management: Procedural and attitudinal activities will introduce the idea of capacity learning and capabilities, studying the scenarios of disaster management as a subject, the crisis processes, integration of information and evolution will give an opportunity to use no cost methodologies as a learning & prevention tool. Objectives, contents, instruments, contribution to the programme, description of the measure, community added value... etc will be also identified.

Unfortunately all nations have experienced different kind of disasters (natural & technical), why not coordinated all lessons learned experiences to prevent duplication efforts?

Hopefully the words above have a little bit of sense, I hope.
With my best regards to all of you,

Mónica Miguel Lago (Spain)


15.07.04 Rodney Martínez (Ecuador)  
Dear colleagues:

As an example of partnership, I want to introduce the current developments of CIIFEN (The International Centre for Research on El Niño), in Guayaquil Ecuador.

CIIFEN focuses on the application of scientific research and ocean atmosphere modeling to get an early warning and generate different risk scenarios in socio-economic activities such as agriculture, fisheries, energy, infrastructure, water resources and the environment. This process is completed by a strong information system which aims to disseminate information to governments, decision makers, private and public sectors and ordinary people, about what is going on about El Niño, and the associated risks in relation to the phenomenon and climate variability in the region.

CIIFEN links science with society through risk management and information technology, and constitutes a new approach of our countries to face El Niño in the region and contribute to reducing its impact.

Rodney Martínez (Ecuador)


13.07.04 Meena Bilgi (India)  
Disaster awareness and preparedness has to start at home. With this, awareness among the people is of utmost importance. There is a strong need for educational institutions and academicians to revisit the syllabus and sensitise school children about the causes of all kinds of disasters, precautions and protection of the environment.

Builders, architects and town planners need practical and thorough knowledge about people friendly and disaster proof buildings. And concrete and stringent measures should be taken against those who approve illegal and controversial constructions. (In urban areas of Gujarat, most deaths and injuries in the 2001 earthquake were because of illegal and extremely bad construction of buildings and/or construction of non-disaster proof buildings)

Here the roles of legal and judicial systems comes in: their capacities and sensitivities need to be built upon. The blending of the roles and capacities of civil society, NGOs, all departments of the Government, the corporate sector and academicians from varied disciplines is the need of the hour.

Meena Bilgi (India)

13.07.04 R Kuberan (Vietnam)  

Comments on the message of Koko Warner (Switzerland) and others.

I agree that financial services will be essential for disaster mitigation, especially in the recovery and rehabilitation phase. There should be insurance for life, property, crops, livestock, etc.

However, in developing countries, most people who are affected by disasters are either below or close to the poverty line, and they may not be able to pay for the services of insurance companies. In such cases innovative schemes will be necessary for bringing these people under insurance coverage, with very low and affordable premium rates. This can be in the form of group insurance or compulsory insurance, or subsidised by government.

R Kuberan (Vietnam)


13.07.04 Jamal Sholan (Yemen)  
There are wide differences in the experience and understanding of ‘voluntary partnerships’ in developing countries. But I would like to express some opinions on voluntary work, from our local experience in Yemen during the last 20 years:-

1- We have difficulty in co-ordinating self-help and public assistance during the several stages of disaster (this work is actually not organized by any one or at any level before the disaster) and developing mechanisms for this. At the same time, how can we relate these to other interpretations and experiences of ‘voluntary partnership’ across the world?

2- However, there are probably some common ideas shared by different communities and different relationships running from east to west in the world; these ideas may be applicable to disasters.

3- During the Dhamar earthquake we received good and beneficial assistance from volunteers and voluntary organisations all over the world; some of these are still represented in Yemen, like Oxfam and various organizations working under the UN.

3- To avoid confusion over terms, it would be a good idea to develop clear frameworks for partnerships, and perhaps to rename this important topic.

Best Regards
Jamal Sholan (Yemen)

13.07.04 Leonidas Ocola (Peru)  
Dear Participants:

An experience and comments follow.

EXPERIENCE

Developing countries appreciate very much voluntary partnership of donors of experience and/or funding to reduce vulnerabilities to hazard impacts. However, some NGOs come to a country and identify a community that, at first glance, is at risk from a natural hazard. They start, immediately, working to diminish or eliminate vulnerabilities to what they believe is the main local hazard. The NGO´s assessment of the level of hazard is done on local community information, which usually is incomplete, or defective. On the other hand, the country might have governmental agencies with responsibility for documenting natural phenomena and assessing levels of hazard, that the NGO does not contact to request information. There are natural events whose recurrence time is longer than a human generation’s life span. Thus, information about disastrous events with long periods of recurrence is likely to be lost in the community's memories.

COMMENTS

1. I do agree about the need of an UN-coordinating and guiding agency to provide information on prospective stakeholder, country-official agencies dealing with hazard, vulnerability, risk or disaster management to get
appropriate information on the community and environmental phenomena. It would be best, if such a UN Agency also provides seed funding to start the partnership.

2. Developing countries appreciate very much donors of knowledge, technologies, skills and finance, if the efforts solve community problems and do not create new ones.

Leonidas Ocola (Peru)

13.07.04 Durgadas Mukhopadhyay (India)  
Dear friends participating in the forum and UN ISDR organisers

All the parties involved in disaster reduction and disaster management should seriously think of "collaboration between many stakeholders and voluntary participation", as the long term problem of disasters can not be solved by any single organisation. However, communities involved in the disaster and grassroots organisations should get highest priority, responsibility and funding for disaster reduction.

A large number of researchers and activists have complained that many international organisations do not respond to civil society’s suggestions and action plans and hardly cooperate with civil society organisation and communities, with the excuse of being "intergovernmental organisations", policy prescriptions, shortage of funds, etc.

Disaster is ultimately the short and long term burden of the community. There cannot be genuine participation when significant amounts of the money allocated for disaster management is spent on so-called experts and consultants (the corrupt bureaucracy in some developing countries adds to the problem). Newspapers in Bhuj, Gujarat, reported the luxurious conditions enjoyed by some foreign consultants alongside those faced by the victims of the 2001 earthquake Ultimately, it is the sheer strength of the Bhuj community which has rebuilt Bhuj with livelihood options within a remarkably short period of time, after the consultants and charities had left.

The funds for disaster reduction could have been meaningfully distributed among the affected people and the community on a pro-rata basis so that they could plan and implement prevention, relief and rehabilitation according to their priorities. Participation and collaboration without decision-making power is meaningless!

Durgadas Mukhopadhyay (India)

13.07.04 Maria Nadiezda Otero (Bolivia)  

Dear colleagues

The disaster (flood) of February 2002 in the city of La Paz (Bolivia), was a nice experience of voluntary help. The population spontaneously went to the streets to help those affected, providing food, clothes, working hours, tools, etc. Something that I never have seen in my life, because it involved people of all the social levels and ages. But such potential is wasted when not enough technical assistance is given to facing potential emergencies.

In my field experiences, I have noticed that the most depressed social groups show the most solidarity in emergency situations.

Concerning voluntary partnerships, my contributions are the following:

  • Voluntary associations should be established under a main principle: solidarity.
  • It is necessary that voluntary partnerships are involved in defined structures and take part in programs of risk reduction at local, national, regional level.
  • Voluntary partnerships doesn't have to be a parallel topic to those previously outlined in this dialogue.
  • It is difficult to demand that people take part in voluntary partnerships in societies where the potential contributors are unemployed. Unemployment is a great problem in Latin America and the Caribbean and I suppose in other places.
  • When people have employment or incomes to live on, they will able to contribute to voluntary partnerships for risk reduction or other issues.
  • It is important to motivate children and young people to take action in risk reduction as part of voluntary partnerships.
  • It is important to rescue the potentialities of society in risk reduction.
  • Technical support is also very important in voluntary partnerships.

Best Regards
Maria Nadiezda Otero (Bolivia)


13.07.04 John Norton (France)  
Dear Colleagues,

Alekssandr Kuzmenko wonders why there have been so few contributions on this topic.

I don’t think it is a question of importance, but of time: the character of online conferences is such that the volume of material to digest becomes overwhelming, and reaches a point where making a contribution is daunting.

John Norton (France)

13.07.04 Jean J. Chu (USA)  
Dear Colleagues,

I recently received this local community report from the Philippines, and believe it to be a good example of voluntary partnership. This report, from a community-based earthquake monitoring station located in a relatively difficult-to-access area of Luzon, speaks of teamwork and dedication at many levels of government and in civil society.

We all still have a long way to go, but it is amazing what local communities, when inspired, can create and produce as concrete results.

Perhaps there is, or if not, we might create, the possibility that representatives from such breakthrough communities attend and showcase what they have accomplished at the grass roots level, during the January 18-22, 2005, WCDR meeting in Kobe, Japan?

With sincere regards,

Jean J. Chu (USA)


REPORT ON THE CRUSTAL STRESS COMMUNITY AWARENESS NETWORK (CSCAN)
IN THE PROVINCE OF AURORA, PHILIPPINES

Prepared by Ana Riza S. Mendoza
Baler, Aurora, July 14, 2004


BACKGROUND

In 2000, the United Nations Global Programme for the Integration of Public Administration and the Science of Disasters (UNGP-IPASD) collaborated with the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) and the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) to establish a community-based earthquake monitoring system in the Philippines. Called the Crustal Stress Community Awareness Network (CSCAN), this system covers one-third of the country and involves ten communities in Luzon. The Province of Aurora, specifically the Municipality of Baler, was identified as a strategic location for one of the CSCAN monitoring sites. A crustal stress measuring sensor was installed in the compound of Aurora National Science High School and the monitoring equipment was placed at the former Aurora Integrated Area Development Project (AIADP) building in Baler.


OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT

The overall objective of the project is to encourage local communities to see and prepare ahead for natural disasters, by raising their awareness to their vulnerabilities and by monitoring changes in the local environment that relate to natural events. The following are specific objectives:

- To augment the country’s capacity to conduct forecasting research for earthquakes, by establishing a community-based monitoring network to record crustal stress changes related to such disasters;
- To harness the participation of Local Government Units (LGUs), the community and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in gathering scientific data and observing environmental changes that could contribute to improving earthquake forecasting research; and
- To encourage the involvement of young community members, especially schoolchildren, in observing the natural environment and in tapping the wisdom of senior community members regarding natural disasters.


PROVINCIAL PROFILE AND SEISMIC SETTING

The Province of Aurora is located on the eastern seaboard of Luzon and constitutes the former northern portion of Quezon Province. Aurora Province occupies a long and narrow strip of land that covers an area of 309,860 hectares. It has eight (8) municipalities, namely, Baler, Casiguran, Dilasag, Dinalungan, Dingalan, Dipaculao, Maria Aurora and San Luis, seven of which are coastal municipalities. The province is generally mountainous and forested although a significantly extensive area of the flat land is presently cultivated with crops.

With its location, the province is exposed to tropical cyclones, and is also considered as one of the earthquake and tsunami prone areas of the Philippines.

On September 27, 1735, a phenomenal tidal wave called "Tromba Marina" completely destroyed the town of Baler.

On August 2, 1968, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake occurred, which had its epicenter in Casiguran, one of the northern municipalities of the province, where the Casiguran Fault - East Luzon Trench Region is located. The said event was recorded among the most damaging earthquakes in the seismic history of the Philippines.

The Municipality of Baler, where the earthquake monitoring equipment is installed, is the provincial capital and is located in the central zone of Aurora Province.


PROJECT OPERATION

The CSCAN data recorders at Baler operate and conduct readings from the crustal stress monitoring instrument twice a day, seven days a week and 365 days a year. Training of these data recorders by PHIVOLCS, and/or the UNGP-IPASD, takes place at the LGUs’ expense. The LGU is also responsible for sending in the CSCAN data to PHIVOLCS through email, fax or telephone. The minimal electric power consumption of the CSCAN recording instrument is being shouldered by the agency where the equipment is installed.

PHIVOLCS has agreed to share information with the LGU on unusual changes in the network’s data which may indicate stress build-up prior to a large event, and to alert the LGU should there be a need for heightened awareness and/or more timely observations.

It was made clear that all data recorded are for research purposes only, specifically for conducting geologic disaster mitigation research.

The project is based on volunteerism as there are no fees being collected by any agency, including PHIVOLCS, for the abovementioned tasks.


CSCAN HISTORY IN BALER, AURORA

The CSCAN concept started in January 1997 with former Secretary Corazon Alma G. De Leon of the Civil Service Commission. By early 2000, Secretary De Leon joined with former Marikina Mayor Bayani Fernando and former PHIVOLCS Director Raymundo Punongbayan to create the present community-based earthquake monitoring system of CSCAN.

A crustal stress monitoring station was built in Baler in October 2000. PHIVOLCS coordinated with the Provincial Government of Aurora (PGA) and signed an agreement with the Municipal Government of Baler (LGU-Baler) on the operation of the project. As part of this agreement, LGU-Baler sent their personnel to training conducted by PHIVOLCS and the UNGP-IPASD for CSCAN data recorders.

The CSCAN site in Baler was set up in a building that housed the Aurora Integrated Area Development Project (AIADP). For this reason, in late 2000, LGU-Baler recommended that the CSCAN data recording and transmission be done by AIADP personnel, which the latter accepted after AIADP personnel received the appropriate training. In view of the fact that AIADP was a project funded by the European Union and had only a limited time of operation, the AIADP project concluded in December 2001.

Since the CSCAN monitoring equipment was installed in the compound of Aurora National Science High School (ANSHS) and the AIADP Building was donated to the school, the task of recording the readings was then turned over to the school administration. Seeing the importance of the experiment, the school principal supervised the operation of the project and requested the Provincial Government of Aurora, through the Office of the Provincial Planning and Development Coordinator (OPPDC), to send the data by fax to the data collection center at PHIVOLCS in Metro-Manila. This endeavor was supported by the PPDC. On the other hand, the regular readings are being done by trained students of ANSHS. The technology is then transferred to new students to keep up data recording and have them be aware of earthquake risk mitigation. Up to the present, the Aurora National Science High School through its Principal, and the Provincial Planning and Development Office, work in partnership to read and send data regularly to PHIVOLCS.

Below are the most recent series of trainings and workshops participated in by CSCAN observers and volunteers:

- Workshop on the Enhancement of CSCAN Operation through Team-Building and Technology-Sharing, held on June 3-7, 2002 at the PHIVOLCS Bldg, UP Diliman, Quezon City.

- CSCAN Workshop on Community Awareness, Training and Empowerment held on November 26-28, 2002 at the University of Northern Philippines, Vigan, Ilocos Sur.

- Collective Strengthening of Community Awareness for Natural Disasters (CSCAND) Earthquake Awareness Workshop for Local and Barangay (Village) Officials held in Infanta, Quezon on September 17-18, 2003 and Lingayen, Pangasinan on November 19-20, 2003.


DISASTER AWARENESS ENDEAVORS

Aside from the community-based earthquake monitoring system of CSCAN, the Province of Aurora has a Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council and eight (8) Municipal Disaster Coordinating Councils wherein the key members are composed of the Provincial Government, Municipal Governments, Philippine National Police, Philippine Army, Bureau of Fire Protection, the Philippine National Red Cross, Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, Department of Public Works and Highways and PAG-ASA, the national weather bureau. Member agencies are advocating the importance of disaster consciousness and preparedness, be the disaster man-made or natural.

The Provincial Government, in collaboration with its partner agencies, is regularly observing the Fire Prevention Month and Disaster Consciousness Month, wherein seminars and symposia focusing on disaster preparedness are conducted for students and for the community as well. A series of information drives are consistently being done to ensure people’s responsiveness when a disaster or calamity happens. Through these activities, people are becoming more aware of the different types of precursors they can monitor prior to natural disasters. Among those categories being observed related to weather and tectonic disasters are the following:

- Color of the sky, humidity, and wind direction
- Unusual behavior of insects (especially ants)
- Height/pressure of aquifer waters spouting out of local pipes


OUTCOMES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

With the geographical location of the Province of Aurora, it is exposed to typhoons. The people of Aurora are very much aware of this fact, thus, they are aware of the various risks that this phenomenon may bring such as floods and landslides. On the contrary, they have limited knowledge on the hazard that earthquakes may bring.

The establishment of a community-based earthquake monitoring site in Baler has brought about several significant developments. As part of the national CSCAN team, Baler has directly contributed to seeing ahead for six earthquakes during the time period of January 2002 through April 2003. These results are in the public domain, accessible by the Internet:
http://www.undp.org.ph/frontliner/archive/3-2003/cscanlong.htm

Another positive outcome is that, with the students’ direct participation in data recording, they are now more conscious of their environment. In line with their training on data reading, they are also informed of the macro- and micro-precursors of earthquakes. Their gained knowledge is then passed on to their parents during family discussions.

With regard to future activities, it is clear that more work at the local and national levels is necessary to have the CSCAN system become sustainable and effective in disaster mitigation. The Provincial Government of Aurora, through the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council, might well consider conducting earthquake preparedness and community-awareness training on a regular basis. In this manner, the people of Aurora may understand that earthquake preparedness is equally important as other natural and man-made disasters.


13.07.04 George Ritchie (UK)  
Colleagues,

In the WCDR discussions to date there has been frequent mention of the importance of the roles which voluntary and non-government organizations can play in disaster reduction at both national and world-wide scales.

May I bring to your notice the Global Association for Disaster Reduction (GADR) and invite all those interested to involve themselves in its activities by communicating with either me or the CEO of GADR, Dr Walter Hays, at :-walter_hays@msn.com (Note _ between walter and hays).

GADR is a world-wide association of professionals, administrators, academics, technologists, emergency services, police and military officers, from government, from non-government organizations and the private sector, whose responsibilities, or interests embrace disaster reduction from natural, technological and the range of man-made disasters (other than war and civil strife) and also the linkages of such disasters with sustainable development and environmental management.

GADR is promoting the education, public awareness and staff training aspects of disaster reduction in association with UNESCO and is to take a lead role in relation to those activities within the framework of the UN Decade on Education for Sustainable Development (2004-2013). GADR also operates in association with UNDP and the Secretariat of ISDR and is in the process of publishing "Blueprints" prepared by its members which provide guidance on a wide range of disaster reduction courses of action. These will be extended in the coming years through members' collaboration. Outlines of these "Blueprints" can be viewed on the website, www.gadr.giees.uncc.edu (GIEES is the Global Institute for Energy and the Environment at the University of North Carolina, USA at which GADR is administratively based.)

GADR began as an initiative of the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2002 and now enjoys full charitable status in the USA. Its present membership is about 1000 with over 50 supporting organizations. It is planned that membership should grow to about 4000 in the next 2-3 years. GADR plans to play a full part in the Kobe conference in 2005.

George Ritchie (UK)

13.07.04 Anshu Sharma (India)  
Dear Colleagues,

It is heartening to be talking about partnerships, and not networks! We all are aware of, and have been part of, many network based partnerships in the past decade. Most of us have found that largely these kind of associations fail to deliver concrete outputs in a sustained manner. Partnerships need to be understood as mechanisms wherein each partner has to make a `contribution' in return for what he or she gains. We cannot just talk about exchanging knowledge. We have to go beyond that and make the exchange more tangible.

Voluntary partnerships can extend beyond voluntary organisations. Two weeks ago a major landslide in Joshimath, a Himalayan tourist spot in North India, destroyed a substantial length of the only road connecting the region to the rest of the country, and got about five thousand persons stranded in adverse weather conditions. Government rescue teams could not do much as their helicopters were inoperational due to the bad weather. JP Industries, a private construction company implementing a hydro-electric project in the area, cleared a three kilometer long tunnel at that location, and helped the administration evacuate the stranded people through the tunnel. There were no money transactions involved, nothing made mandatory on anyone to act, no visible credits or marketing mileage made available. It was a voluntary partnership in an emergency situation. It was a partnership between a corporate agency, the government and some community groups that helped organise the people. One wishes such partnerships also extended to preparedness and mitigation operations.

One also wishes that besides such innovative and appealing practices, attention is also paid to small but time tested traditional practices.

In parts of the Assam region in the Himalayas, bamboo housing is used in a brilliant way to resist earthquakes and floods. The flexible and light structures shake during tremors and return to their original forms. Floors are attached to pulleys and can be hauled up above water levels during floods, only to be released back to ground level once the flood recedes. This kind of housing is, however, fast giving way to modern cement concrete construction with none of these qualities. Can not a partnership between voluntary agencies, professionals, academia and the government create an environment for promotion of good traditional construction practices, perhaps with some embellishments to enhance their appeal value?

Old people in South India and Bangladesh have a knack for predicting cyclones. I myself have talked to an old man who had predicted the 1977 cyclone of Andhra Pradesh, which killed 10,000 people, three days in advance. Such people have learnt from their forefathers to watch for the way birds fly and fish swim inland, to understand what the weather has in store. Must satellites replace such people? Can there not be a partnership between such village elders, local volunteer groups and local administration to act upon such warnings till the rusty communication links with the met department creak into action?

Management of village ponds all across South Asia, and canals/kareezes in drought prone Afghanistan have helped generations survive droughts. Must piped water dreams mean the end of ponds and kareezes? Can not a partnership between village councils, state water boards, voluntary agencies, professionals and academia find viable and affordable balances between traditional wisdom and technology?

The cases to cite are many. The bottom line is that partnerships must mean contributions by all and outputs that help all. Education and sustainable development are the keywords to highlight the achievements we need to target towards effectively reducing disaster risk, particularly in the developing world. This is also the theme for the upcoming UN decade. I hope the WCDR will address this link, and will strive for a deeper understanding of related issues, and establishing/strengthening meaningful voluntary partnerships.

Best regards,
Anshu Sharma (India)

13.07.04 Meda Gurudutt Prasad (India)  
VOLUNTARY PARTNERSHIPS- CADME’S EXPERIENCE (INDIA)

Dear Friends,

CADME (Coastal Area Disaster Mitigation Efforts) is a network of 20 voluntary organisations making efforts together to mitigate the effects of disasters. The coastal area is a part of the state of Andhra Pradesh in India which is most vulnerable to multiple disasters, which are recurrent phenomena every year. Government and non-governmental organisations every year spend lots of money on relief operations.

Even though many voluntary organisations have been working on disaster preparedness for the past few decades, their efforts are confined to their limited geographical areas and the impact of their efforts is very limited. For this reason, a group of these organisations came together to form CADME. CADME’s main focus is to establish village-level taskforce groups comprising men and women between the ages of 18 and 35, who are physically and mentally sound with 100 per cent commitment to help their co-villagers before, during and after disasters. The local community identifies members for the taskforce groups and these members undergo 21 days of disaster preparedness training in the following fields: warning and evacuation, emergency medical care, emergency rescue,
emergency relief and camp management, contingency plan development, disaster drill, disaster preparedness-development.

The trained taskforce members take up responsibilities and actions based on their interest and capacities; and the taskforce groups are divided into emergency medical care groups, emergency rescue groups, relief camp groups, warning and evacuation groups and emergency rescue groups. All the trained group members along with the inhabitants of their respective villages have developed village contingency plans in which they have clearly indicated low lying and elevated areas,